More pathways are now open for exploring the Carp River Conservation Area!
The Campeau Drive bridge has opened. The bridge provides a 2 km closed loop pathway along both sides of the Carp River in the heart of the conservation area. Two 0.5 km side pathways from the loop extend south to Hwy 417 and north to the habitat pond. Check out the views from the bridge. Migrating birds are also stopping to feed before heading south.
All pathways are paved except for a short section of gravel near the stormwater pond on the south side of the river.
View from the Campeau Drive bridge looking southeast. The restored meanders in the river are clearly visible.
Looking northwest. Pathway intersections at the Campeau Drive bridge.
Unfortunately the weather is just not cooperating for this event. MVCA and Friends of the Carp River are cancelling the Discover the Carp River Conservation Area event scheduled for Saturday, 2 October due to the rain forecast from Environment Canada. We look forward to holding this event next year.
In the meantime, you can discover the Carp River Conservation Area on your own by visiting MVCA’s web site. Download the EcoTrekr mobile app on your smart phone to explore the site’s ecology, history, and natural beauty while out for your walk along the pathways. Visit our Carp River Conservation Area information page to download a map and a plant and wildlife guide.
MVCA and Friends of the Carp River cordially invite you to attend the Discover the Carp River Conservation Areaevent on Saturday, 2 October, from 1:30 pm to 4pm. Join us at the MVCA’s new conservation area at the pathway near the Terry Fox Drive and Kanata Avenue intersection.
Visitors to our public engagement event will learn about the river’s restoration and plans for the Carp River Living Classroom. Citizen science activities, a scavenger hunt, information about EcoTrekr, and guided tours will be available. The Briarbook Morgan’s Grant Community Association will also be on hand to talk about their hydro corridor greenspace restoration and greenspace linkages in Kanata North.
Join us at the MVCA’s new conservation area at the pathway near the Terry Fox Drive and Kanata Avenue intersection. Download this map for parking information. (Map image from Google Earth.)
MVCA has a multi-year plan to make the Carp River Conservation Area a destination to learn about biodiversity and wetlands in a suburban setting. Working with educators, MVCA is developing the Carp River Living Classroom. The Living Classroom will be a program that animates the river and its wetlands for education and discovery by residents and thousands of students from nearby schools.
In June 2021, MVCA launched EcoTrekr, an educational and interactive mobile app for learning more about the river and wetlands. Visitors can download the app, explore along the pathway, learn about what they’re seeing, take quizzes, and earn badges.
Over the next few years other features are planned: an osprey nesting tower, wildlife boxes, more interpretive signs, and development of a curriculum for use by schools.
Restoration of the Carp River between 2016 and 2018 utterly transformed a four kilometer section of the river in Kanata from a straight, shallow, silt-filled channel into a healthy wetland and riverine ecosystem. The restoration project was initiated to improve water quality, stream conveyance, and water storage. The floodplain was reconfigured as part of the restoration in tandem with new development. The project also planted hundreds of native trees and shrubs, and seeded the floodplain with flowers and grasses to provide a welcoming, biodiverse habitat for wildlife.
The Carp River Conservation Area is unique within Ottawa. It demonstrates how a restored river and its wetlands can provide recreation and ecoservices for adjacent and downstream communities in a densely developed suburban area. This Low Impact Development approach uses green infrastructure to deliver the following benefits:
protect water quality by capturing and filtering storm water;
mitigate flooding;
control erosion and reduce sedimentation;
provide groundwater recharge and discharge;
provide habitat for fish and wildlife;
sequester carbon; and
offer pathways for walking, biking, and wildlife observation.
Visitors can park at Insmill Park, which is close to the Kanata Avenue intersection.
We look forward to seeing you.
For more information about the event, visit: mvc.on.ca.
Prior to the pandemic shutdown in March 2020, Friends of the Carp River had met with representatives of the Arcadia Community Association, Councillor Jenna Sudds, and city staff to discuss the design of Riverchase Park. Our goal has been to influence the design of the park such that it reflects the spectacular natural setting of the adjacent Carp River Conservation Area.
Through Engage Ottawa in December 2020, the City of Ottawa proposed two design concepts for Riverchase Park, which has a large storm water pond on its west side and the Carp River Conservation Area to its north.
Arcadia Riverchase Park, Concept B (City of Ottawa, December 2020)
The Setting for Riverchase Park
In November, the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA), in partnership with Friends of the Carp River and the Ottawa Stewardship Council, launched the Carp River Conservation Area in the adjacent restored floodplain of the river. At the Conservation Area, MVCA also launched Phase 1 of the Carp River Living Classroom with welcome signs and interpretive signs, a video, a citizen science project in iNaturalist, and a brochure. Planning has begun for Phase 2, which will include a classroom gazebo, osprey nesting platform, educational mobile app for kids, and curriculum development with local school boards. The site is unique in offering learning about a riverine restoration and ecosystem services provided by green infrastructure in a densely developed area.
The Arcadia Community Association and the City of Ottawa will determine the amenities that Riverchase Park offers its residents within the funding envelope provided. What we would like to influence is “how” these amenities are integrated with the site. We would also like to explore what additional features could be incorporated (e.g. art, enhanced vegetation planting, interpretive signs) if more funding were provided.
Our Comments on the Park Design Concepts
Here are our comments, which apply equally to both design concepts.
It was always our fear that the park design would be another cookie cutter version of all the other new parks in the city with no acknowledgement of its spectacular setting. Sadly, the designs presented include standard, AutoCAD-type cut-out park features that have been arranged in a utilitarian manner to fit the terrain.
The paths are straight lines. Curved paths would echo the meander of the river, inviting people on a journey to the park’s amenities. Curves are also more psychologically restful since they resemble the curves of nature.
Similarly, the park’s amenities near Winterset Road are laid out on a grid pattern. There is room to rearrange these to reflect curves and circles.
The rain garden is a nice idea, but it should be more organic to the landscape.
We recognize the need for open space and ease of maintenance. Curves are easy to mow.
The north side of the soccer field by the river will be elevated about 4 meters above the conservation area path, offering quite a nice view of the river and wetlands. Can we take advantage of this with an observation area?
Riverchase Park: imagine it as a tributary of the Carp River
A good design needs a concept or theme to unify it. Here is an idea for Riverchase Park: imagine it as a tributary of the Carp River.
Either Concept A or B can be laid out with flow in mind. People will flow down the meandering paths through the amenities to the storm water pond or to the soccer field. The vegetation plantings will run along the “river banks”. The artwork can be turtles and birds and cattails, perhaps some spouting water near the splash pad (same pipes for running water that are drained in winter).
The straight line design becomes curves. The festival field is a circle or ellipse with plantings to emphasize this.
The splash pad would shift slightly to accommodate a pathway that flows around it on both sides as if it were a rock in a stream. This theme could be carried through the design around the splashpad (e.g. rocks that people can sit on).
Great Blue Heron in the area near the location of the future park.
A stone dust observation area would be added at the north end. It would have benches and an interpretive sign, which could have pictures of birds that people could expect to see in the river below. Native flowering shrubs would be added on the slope. There should be sufficient space to allow mowing between the soccer field and the observation area.
An interpretive sign would be added to the path where it joins the storm water pond area. This sign would tell people how the park, the storm water pond, and the conservation area are all linked, green infrastructure.
Berms and swales can be used to delineate areas and vegetation plantings, which would consist of trees and native flowering shrubs.
Blanding’s turtles at the Mlacak Centre in Kanata.
Artwork would be added. Ideally the artwork would allow kids to interact with it; e.g. like the stone turtles at the Mlacak Centre Library.
The curved-based design would be visually interesting, mentally restful, and more organically integrated with the surrounding landscape.
Riverchase Park: An Opportunity for Arcadia
Adding artwork and other features to the park would increase the cost outside the envelope. There are opportunities to explore fundraising as part of the effort for the Carp River Living Classroom.
We hope that residents of Arcadia, the City of Ottawa, and the landscape architects see the same opportunities as we do for making this park more harmonious with nature.
The new storm water management pond adjacent to Riverchase Park is connected to the Carp River. The pond’s overflow is filtered by the river’s wetlands, a great example of ecosystem services provided by a natural area.
The Living Classroom at the Carp River Conservation Area has two welcome signs and five interpretive signs on the north side pathway. More will be added when the pathway on the south side and the loop over the river near Highway 417 are completed. Can you find all five signs?
Welcome signs now greet visitors at the entrances on Terry Fox Drive at the Richardson Side Road and the Kanata Avenue intersections.
Interpretive signs line the north side path with information about the river restoration, the ecosystem services provided by the wetlands and river, and the diversity of waterfowl and shore birds that use the site to breed or as a migration stop.
Visit MVCA’s Carp River Conservation Area web page to download a brochure and a site map, and to view a short video about the site.
Learn about the Restoration Project, and how the restored river and wetlands provide recreation, habitat, and ecosystem services in a suburban setting.
Become a Citizen Scientist – learn about our iNaturalist project for the conservation area.
Learn about Birding at the conservation area using eBird.
To encourage and support citizen science, we have created seven projects in iNaturalist to capture observations made in and along the river and its four main tributaries. Any observation made (except one that is obscured or private) is automatically added to one or more of our Carp River projects depending on where the observation is located.
One project is the Carp River Conservation Area, which covers the 2 kilometer restoration site between Richardson Side Road and the Queensway (Hwy 417). It will support education and outreach programs for the Carp River Living Classroom.
Read more about the projects and how you can contribute on our Citizen Science page. Join one or more projects as a Member.
View over the wet meadows flooded by the spring freshet.
21 March 2020 – Early morning on the third day of spring felt like winter redux with an air temperature of -10C and a wind chill of -20C due to the icy blast from the northwest. But the sun was too bright and too high on the horizon for winter. Sunlight sparkled on the open water of the Carp River’s spring freshet flowing through the restoration site in Kanata. Despite the cold and patches of snow, could signs of spring be found?
Sounds
Mine!
Honking. Quacking. Conk-la-ree! Early spring migrants blared a cacophony of bird calls. Canada Geese and Mallards rested in the open water of the river and its wetlands. Although some will stay through the summer, these birds are likely just passing through on their way north. However, other birds have arrived from the south to make a home here. A pair of male Red-winged Blackbirds wheeled over the marsh in a territorial battle, while another male nearby perched on a cattail and proclaimed his ownership of a plot of flattened rushes by the river.
Infinite Geese!
The large flocks all looked like Canada Geese, but close examination can sometimes reveal different species that travel with them like Brant Geese and Snow Geese. Among all the black, brown, and white geese a leucistic individual was found. Leucism is a genetic condition that affects the goose’s ability to produce the dark Melanim pigment so it appears white, light brown, or grey.
Learn more about what birds have been observed at the Restoration Site here: eBird hotspot
Mallards.
Leucistic Goose.
Colours
Red Osier Dogwood stabilizes the shoreline.
Yellow, red, orange, chartreuse. Willow twigs retain their colour in winter, but the colour brightens as sap begins to flow and buds swell. Willows are one of the first woody plants to bloom in the spring, providing much-needed nectar for early pollinators. Thirteen native species of willows grow in Ottawa, some as trees and some as shrubs. Common shrub willows at the restoration area include native Bebb’s Willow and Sandbar Willow. The large trees that grow on the site are non-native Hybrid Crack Willows, so called because their branches easily break.
Red Osier Dogwood’s pinkish-red twigs also brighten marshes and shorelines during winter, but these shrubs bloom and leaf out much later. Its white berries (bitter and mildly nauseating to humans) are eaten by a large variety of birds and provide a valuable source of energy for fall migrants.
A spectrum of bright colours from Hybrid Crack Willow trees in the background, and shrub willows and Red Osier Dogwood (at the far right) in the foreground. Willow sap is flowing, deepening the twig colours and swelling buds.
Both willows and dogwoods stabilize shorelines to prevent erosion and sedimentation of the river. They provide food and habitat for many species.
Don’t run away! “Scat” is a term biologists use for animal poop. Piles of scat, some quite substantial, were deposited at intervals along the pathways. Close examination revealed these were from coyotes, not dogs. Coyotes are omnivorous. Their scat looks dog-like, but it consists of seeds, hair, and bones, and it tapers to a long tail. Coyotes will use scat piles repeatedly to mark territory, hence the size of the piles. Red fox scat is similar, but smaller. Coyotes inhabit the area all year round, but these scat piles were recently deposited on the bare pathway pavement.
Pack your binoculars and camera and visit the Carp River Conservation Area to see what you can discover. Find out more about its pathways and how to access it here: Carp River Conservation Area.
Arcadia lies on the Ribbon of Life of the restored Carp River.
Greek mythology imagined Arcadia as a vision of pastoralism and harmony with nature*. In Kanata, the new community of Arcadia lies on the doorstep of a riverine and wetland natural setting – a ribbon of life – along a two kilometer restored section of the Carp River. How fortunate Arcadia is to be part of this large and unique natural area in suburban Ottawa. What are its possibilities for realizing harmony with nature?
The Friends of the Carp River are working with the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, City of Ottawa, and Ottawa Stewardship Council to animate the restored river and its wetlands for education and discovery, a Living Classroom along the Carp River:
an education resource for schools,
a place for families to learn about wetlands and biodiversity,
a site for citizen science and research,
perhaps eventually an eco-tourism experience for visitors to Ottawa.
Beside the Living Classroom on the restored river lies a 6 acre parcel of land designated for a park in the Arcadia subdivision. Riverchase Park will be built with recreation amenities to meet Arcadia’s needs. But it can be so much more than just another suburban park. It’s a gateway to nature, connecting the community to the pulsing vitality of riparian shorelines: wading birds, pollinators and wildflowers, basking turtles, river otters, and the seasonal rhythm of migrating birds.
The Carp River Living Classroom lies on a 2 km section of restored river beside Terry Fox Drive between Richardson Side Road and the Queensway. Arcadia and its park lie to the south of the river.
Arcadia’s River Chase Park will be a gateway to the Living Classroom and Ribbon of Life along the Carp River.
iWonder – How can Arcadia’s park be:
a place for inspiration, recreation, gathering, and learning?
integrated with the river, wetlands, and wildlife?
a celebration of the ribbon of life?
an experience that is about more than just playing or watching a game?
a place for meditation, contemplation, and well-being?
The community will decide what play structures, sports, and other recreation activities go into Riverchase Park. However, the community also has an opportunity to enhance their park experience by incorporating design features that integrate the park with its remarkable surroundings, within budget constraints.
This opportunity comes about through the partnership of organizations who are developing the Living Classroom. We are talking with Councillor Jenna Sudds and the Arcadia Community Association to explore the possibilities for the park.
The Living Classroom is a multi-year project that will be launched later in 2020 along with a fundraising campaign. Part of the Living Classroom vision requires a River House – a gathering and education place.
This is Arcadia’s opportunity to create a unique park experience in Ottawa. We will continue to explore the possibilities with the community to live in harmony with and celebrate the ribbon of life in its backyard.
Councillor Sudds will be hosting a community session in Spring 2020 and a consultation website will be launched to gather community input. [Postponed due to the pandemic.]
